March 21, 2008

US FROZEN POTATOES MAKING INROADS IN INDONESIA

A restaurant chain in Indonesia recently switched to serving 100% US frozen potato products, plus adding several new items. These switches occurred after the USPB’s representative repeatedly met with the company and provided detailed information on the many different potato products available from the US and addressed concerns about cost and profitability. The rep also offered technical assistance with training the restaurant’s staff in proper storage, handling and preparation, plus cooperative promotional support where needed. The Amigos Restaurant, which was previously only serving ¼” straight cuts of Canadian origin, now serves crinkle cuts, wedges and basket weave cuts from the US. Average sales of frozen potatoes have increased by 35% since the introduction.

Ponderosa Restaurant, which was previously only serving crinkle cut from Canada now are happy to see their customers accepting their recently added varieties of US wedges and basket weave fries, in addition to crinkle cut. Ownership is delighted with the sales so far and confident that with the additional US cuts carried, “they should be able to achieve more incremental sales in the near future because of customers’ acceptance of US fries”.

Another chain, Hotshots, added an additional frozen potato item from the US. They are now serving hash browns along with shoestring, wedges, and twister fries to accompany their flame broiled burgers.

The retailer, Sogo food hall supermarkets, just introduced potato rounds to their selection of five other US frozen potato products. They now carry straight cut, crinkle cut, BBQ flavored wedges, fajita flavored straight cuts, hash browns and potato rounds in their six supermarkets.

SUPERMARKET IN MALAYSIA ADDS THREE ADDITIONAL FROZEN PRODUCTS FROM THE US

Mercato Supermarket in Kuala Lumpur was carrying only one US frozen potato product, hash browns. The other cuts, such as shoe string and crinkle cut were from competitive origins (mainly Belgium and the Netherlands). Subsequently, resulting from repeated visits by the USPB representative with the aim to increase the number of US produced potato products, we were pleased to learn Mercato was willing to carry three (3) additional potato products from the US; namely straight cut, tater rounds and hash brown shreds, in addition to their regular hash brown. As part of the agreement, an in-store promotion was conducted to support their increased interest in selling US potato products.

USPB FOODSERVICE BROCHURE DESIGNED TO INSPIRE RESTAURANT CHEFS

The USPB's new foodservice brochure, "POTATOES...More Fresh Ideas for Menu Innovation", is hot off the presses. Designed to inspire chefs and restaurateurs to add new potato items to their menus, the brochure features some of the best ideas from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) chef seminars. Direct mail, distribution at foodservice meetings, and banner ads on popular foodservice web sites are key ways the USPB distributes this brochure. To view or download the brochure go to www.potatogoodness.com and click on the foodservice button.

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE POTATO SERVES AS GATEWAY FOR POTATO NUTRITION AND CONVENIENCE MESSAGING, GENERATING 42 MILLION CONSUMER IMPRESSIONS

INTEGRATED MEDIA REACHES TARGET AUDIENCES VIA TELEVISION, RADIO AND ONLINE

Throughout the past two months, the USPB has celebrated the International Year of the Potato with consumers in ways that extend the potato nutrition message, introducing the new campaign signature "Potatoes...Goodness Unearthed™".  Public relations efforts, to date, have generated an amazing 42 MILLION consumer impressions. 

January 17, 2008, marked the official kick-off, with spokespersons Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, co-authors of The Ultimate Potato Book, delivering potato nutrition messages to 24 TV and radio stations across the country. The UN International School served as a backdrop for the interviews and students helped with potato recipe preparations during the live segments. The Integrated Media Tour reached 22.4 million consumers in total.

Online video hosting sites, such as YouTube, Google Video, Veho, MySpace, Revver, Yahoo Video and more, were utilized to stretch the reach of nutrition messaging during the integrated satellite tour.

A full-page food feature used the International Year of the Potato celebration to introduce the USPB’s campaign signature to consumers for the first time. The story was syndicated in many newspaper and online news Web sites, reaching a total of 2.7 million consumers to date. Newspapers include The Morning News, Spokesman-Review, Nashville Pride, The Times Leader, Journal Inquirer, Michigan Chronicle, Ashland Independent, Times Record, Weekly Challenger, Charlotte Weekly, Muscatine Journal, Kenosha News, Village Times Herald, Providence Journal, Santa Clarita Signal, Lawton Constitution, Decatur Champion, Omaha World-Herald, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Pine Bluff Commercial, Rabbit Creek Journal and many more.

The Internet’s #1 destination for food and recipes, FoodNetwork.com, created a micro site featuring USPB recipes, the new campaign signature, nutrition and variety information, as well as the microwave mashed potato video vignette. More than 10 million unique visitors visit FoodNetwork.com monthly. A one-day homepage takeover and three-month banner advertising campaign drove traffic to the specially-designed site.

Four international recipes with original photography were created and distributed to newspapers nationwide: Irish Potato Bread, Peruvian Potato and Mango Ceviche, Indian Kootu Curry and Red Cooking Pork and Potatoes from China. You can find these delicious new recipes and more information about the International Year of the Potato by visiting www.potatounderground.com.

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